Athletic shoes

ABSTRACT

A REINFORCED ATHLETIC SHOE INCLUDES AN UPPER MEMBER OF WOVEN FABRIC MATERIAL, A FIRST REINFORCING MEMBER JOINED WITH THE LOWER PERIPHERAL PORTION OF THE UPPER MEMBER, AND TOE AND HEEL REINFORCING MEMBERS JOINED WITH THE FIRST REINFORCING MEMBER AND UPPER MEMBER THE UPPER MEMBER AND THE REINFORCING MEMBERS ARE STICHED TO A SOLE WHICH UPPER LOWER CLOTH MEMBERS MADE OF WOVEN FABRIC MATERIAL JOINED BY CEMENT   AND A BOTTOM MEMBER FORMED OF WEAR-RESISTENT SYNTHETIC RUBBER.

KIHACHIRO ONITSUKA Oct. 24, 1972 ATHLETIC SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed April 30, 1969 Oct 24, 1972 KIHACHIRO oNlTsuKA Re- 27,512

ATHLETIC SHOES Original Filed -April 30, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent O 27,512 ATHLETIC SHOES Kihachiro Onitsuka, 91-5, l-chome,Kitano-cho, Ikuta-ku, Kobe, Japan Original No. 3,535,799, dated Oct. 27,1970, Ser. No. 820,528, Apr. 30, 1969. Application for reissue Dec. 10,1971, Ser. No. 206,955

Int. Cl. A431) /00 U.S. Cl. 36-2.5 P 4 Claims Matter enclosed in heavybrackets appears in the original patent but forms no part of thisreissue specification; matter printed in italics indicates the additionsmade by reissue.

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A reinforced athletic shoe includes an uppermember of woven fabric material, a first reinforcing member joined withthe lower peripheral portion of the upper member, and toe and heelreinforcing members joined with the first reinforcing member and uppermember. The upper member and the reinforcing members are stitched to asole which includes upper and lower cloth members made of woven fabricmaterial joined by cement and a 'bottom member formed of wear-resistentsynthetic rubber.

The present invention relates to an improvement in joint portions ofathletic shoes to be chiefiy used in wrestling, boxing or like sports.

An object of the present invention is to provide athletic shoes havingeffective joint portions which can fully withstand high compression andtensile forces produced at the joint portions between shoe uppers andshoes during athletic activities and which are therefore free frombreakage due to those high compression and tensile forces.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide athleticshoes which are formed with effective reinforcements in the portionsmost susceptible to breakage so as to avoid the uneconomical use ofmaterial.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide athleticshoes which are comfortable to put on and in which the joint portionscan be readily formed.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which: v

FIG. l is a front view showing an athletic shoe of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in section showing the structure of theprincipal part of a joint portion in the athletic shoe of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged View in section showing the principal part of ajoint portion in the athletic shoe of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a View in section showing an upper in the joint portion ofFIG. 2 as it is disassembled.

FIG. 5 is a view in section showing an upper in the joint portion ofFIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a view in section showing the sole as it is disassembled.

Although the athletic shoe of the present invention will be described indetail with respect to an embodiment thereof, the present inventor doesnot wish to limit the Re. 27,512 Ressued Oct. 24, 1972 ice inventiononly to such embodiment, but it should be understood that the inventionalso includes various equivalents, modifications, and alterationsWithout departing from the spirit of the inventor and the scope ofclaims as set forth below.

Designated at 1 is an upper forming the upper portion of an athleticshoe and comprising an upper member 2 for covering the instep, a firstreinforcing member 3 for reinforcing the lower peripheral portion of theupper member and a second reinforcing member 4 for reinforcing the firstreinforcing member at the toe or heel portion. The upper member 2 isformed of a tough woven cotton fabric such as canvas or of a wovenfabric made of synthetic fibers such as polyamide resin fibers,polyester resin fibers, or some other resin material equivalent to theseresins fibers. rl"he first reinforcing member 3 is formed of a film orleather made of a synthetic resin which are highly joinable with theupper member 2 such as polyamide resin, polyester resin, polyvinylchloride resin or the like. Further, the second reinforcing member 4 isto be joined with the external surface of the first reinforcing member 3around the toe portion and/ or heel portion, and is formed of a thickleather, or of a film or leather relatively large in thickness which ismade of a synthetic resin such as polyamide resin, polyester or-polyvinyl chloride.

Designated at 5 is a sole for forming the under face of the athleticshoe comprising a cover sheet 6 and a rubber sole 7 to be brought intocontact with the ground. The cover sheet 6 is formed of pieces of cloth8 and 8 of a tough cotton fabric like canvas or of a tough woven fabricmade of synthetic fibers such as polyamide resin fibers, polyester resinfibers or the like, with a thick rubber cement layer or natural orsynthetic rubber piece 9 interposed between the cloth pieces. The rubbersole 7 to be joined with the cover sheet 6 is made of natural orsynthetic rubber including wear-resisting material mixed therewith.Applicable as the rubber cement are latex solution, rubber chlorideadhesive obtained by reacting natural rubber with chloride, urethanerubber adhesive, chloroprene rubber adhesive, nitrile rubber adhesive,etc.

Enumerated as synthetic rubber are butadiene-styrene rubber (SBR),polybutadiene rubber (PBR), polychloroprene rubber (CR),butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber (NBR), polyurethane rubber,ethylene-propylene rubber, silicone rubber, rubber chloride, etc.

The lower peripheral portion of the upper 1, namely a portion of thefirst reinforcing member 3 and second reinforcing member 4 areintegrally joined with the upper periphery of the sole 5, namely withthe cover sheet G to form a joint portion of the athletic shoe. In thedrawings, designated at 10 is a thread for stitching the upper and thesole together; at 11, sole core; and at 12 an intermediate sole.

The present invention is characterized in the structure of the lowerperipheral portion of the upper 1, the upper peripheral portion of thesole 5 and the joint portions of both of these portions.

Since the upper member 2 of the upper in accordance with the presentinvention is formed of a tough cotton woven fabric such as canvas or ofa Woven fabric of tough synthetic fibers such as polyamide resin fibersor polyester resin fibers, the upper is capable of satisfactorily`withstanding the tension forcibly exerted thereon by the i'oot of thewearer. However, as compared with other tthletic sports, wrestling,boxing or like sport produces ',uch an extremely high tensile force thatthe lower porion of the upper member 2 is liable to be torn.

Accordingly, to the lower peripheral portion of the lpper member 2 isadhered the first reinforcing member 5 made of a synthetic resin film orleather piece having yhe same quality as the synthetic bers forming theupper nember 2 or the upper member is provided, stitched hereto, withthe first reinforcing member 3 made of a synthetic resin film or leatherpiece which is different i'rom the upper in quality. In addition, aroundthe toe )ortion or the heel portion of the upper member 2 which sparticularly susceptible to great damage or over the :Xternal surface ofthe first reinforcing member 3 corre- ;ponding to both of thoseportions, there is provided n adhesive or stitching engagementtherewith, a tough second reinforcing member 4 such as a thick lfilm oreather piece of synthetic resin having the same quality ts the firstreinforcing member 3 or a thick leather piece. l`hus constructed, theathletic shoe is not only capable Jf withstanding high tension exertedthereon by the vearers foot and frictional force produced upon contactvith a mat or the oor, but the reduction of the service ife of the shoedue to the 'breakage in the upper 1 alone :an be precluded.

Because the sole 5 comprises the cover sheet 6 and a ubber sole 7 to bebrought into contact with the ground oined therewith, the cover sheetbeing formed of pieces )f cloth 8 and 8 of a tough cotton-fabric likecanvas )r of a tough woven fabric 'made of synthetic fibers such 1spolyamide resin fibers forming the upper member 2 vith a thick rubbercement layer or rubber piece 9 inter- Josed therebetween, the rubbersole 7 including wear- 'esisting synthetic rubber or the like, the sole5 can withytand compression and tensile forces forcibly exerted :hereonagainst possible breakage. With the damage to :he sole 5 thus precluded,the athletic shoe is made senvceable over a remarkably prolonged period.

Further due to the fact that the lower peripheral por- :ion of the upper1, namely a portion of the first reinforcng member 3 and the secondreinforcing member 4 are oined with the upper peripheral portion of thesole 5, lamely -with the cover sheet 6, or the former and the atter arestitched together after being joined, the joint aortions cansufficiently withstand high tensile and com.- viression forces forciblyexerted thereon by the foot of :he wearer, the joint portion between theupper periphery )f the sole 5 and the lower periphery of the upper 1:bus being perfectly protected against possible destruczion. In case,for instance, the rst reinforcing member 3 1nd second reinforcing member4 on the upper member Z of the upper 1 and cloth pieces 8, 8 of thecover sheet S of the sole 5 are formed with a material of the samequality, the connection at the joint portion can be made urther secured.Thus, there is no possible deterioration )f adhesion even when the jointportion is subjected to ;he perspiration exuded from the foot of thewearer. With effective reinforcement provided at the portion which ismost susceptible to breakage, economical use )f material is ensured toexclude influence on production `It is required that the cloth pieces 8and S, upper mem- Jer 2 of upper 1, first reinforcing member 3, second.'einforcing member 4 and the peripheral edge of sole 5 Je integrallystitched together with a thread passing there- :hrough In this case, theperipheral edge of sole 5 or :he lower periphery of upper 1 is cut bythe thread which acts to prevent the destruction of the joint portion fsole and upper 1 against the tensile force exerted by 11e foot of thewearer. In accordance with the present invention, the lower periphery ofupper 1, namly a portion of the rst reinforcing member 3, and S'eCOldreinforcing member 4 are joined with the upper perlphefy of sole 5,namely with the cover sheet 6 or they are 4 stitched together afterbeing joined together, so that the thread is quite unlikely to cut theperipheral edge of the f sole or the lower periphery of the upper.

What I claim is:

1. An athletic shoe comprising an upper and a sole, said upper having.

an upper member made of woven fabric material:

a first reinforcing member joined with the outer surface of the lowerperipheral portion of said upper member and made of synthetic resinmaterial;

a toe reinforcing member having a lower portion joined with the outersurface of said first reinforcing member and joined with the uppermember;

a heel reinforcing member having a lower portion joined with the outersurfaces of said first reinforcing member and an upper portion extendingupwardly beyond the first reinforcing member and joined with the uppermember, each of the toe and heel reinforcing members being made ofsynthetic resin material,

said sole having upper and lower cloth members made of woven fabricmaterial joined by a cement layer and a bottom member made ofwear-resisting synthetic rubber joined with the lower cloth member,first stitch means securing the upper member, the lirst reinforcingmember, the toe reinforcing member and the sole in the toe portion ofthe shoe, second stitch means securing the upper member, the firstreinforcing member, the heel reinforcing member and the sole in the heelportion of the shoe, and third stitch means securing the upper member,the rst reinforcing member and the sole along the side portions of theshoe.

2. The shoe of claim 1 in which the toe reinforcing member includes aninwardly extending portion interposed between the lower edge of theupper member and the upper cloth member, the first stitch means passingthrough said inwardly extending portion of the toe reinforcing member,the heel reinforcing member including an inwardly extending portioninterposed between the lower edge of t-he upper member and the uppercloth member, the second stitch means extending through the inwardlyextending portion of the heel reinforcing member.

3. An athletic shoe Comprising an upper and a sole, said upper having anupper member made of woven fabric material;

a first reinforcing member joined with the outer surface of the lowerperipheral portion of said upper member and made of synthetic resinmaterial;

a toe reinforcing member having a lower portion joined with the outersurface of said first reinforcing member and joined with the uppermember;

a heel reinforcing member having a lower portion joined with the outersurfaces of said first reinforcing member and an upper portion extendingupwardly beyond the first reinforcing member and joined with the uppermember,

said sole having a cover sheet and a bottom member made ofwear-resisting synthetic rubber joined with the cover sheet, #rst stitchmeans securing the upper member, the first reinforcing member, the toereinforcing member and the sole in the toe portion of the shoe, secondstitch means securing the upper member, the first reinforcing member,the heel reinforcing member and the sole in the heel portion of theshoe, and third stitch means securing the upper member, the firstreinforcing member and the sole along the side portions of the shoe.

4. An athletic shoe comprising an upper and a sole, said upper having anupper member made of woven fabric material;

a first reinforcing member joined with the outer surface of the lowerperipheral portion of said upper member and made of synthetic resinmaterial;

a toereinforcing member having a lower portion joined with the outersurface of said first reinforcing memf ber and joined with the uppermember;

a heel reinforcing member having a lower portion joined with the outersurfaces of said first reinforcing member and an upper portion extendingupwardly beyond the first reinforcing member and joined with the uppermember,

said sole having a cover sheet formed of upper and lower sheets joinedby a cement layer and a bottom member made of wear-resisting syntheticrubber joined with the cover sheet, first stitched means securing theupper member, the first reinforcing member, the toe reinforcing memberand the sole in the toe portion of the shoe, sec'- ond stitch meanssecuring the upper member, the first rein orcing member, the heelreinforcing member and the sole in the heel portion of the shoe, andthird stitch means securing the upper member, the first reinforcingmember and the sole along the side portions of the shoe.

References Cited The following references, `cited by the Examiner, areof record in the patented le of this patent or the original patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,586,045 2/1952 Hom 36-9 3,169,326 2/1965 Butera36-2.5 3,416,174 12/1968 Novirske 39 9 X PATRICK D. LAWSON, PrimaryExaminer

